This cohort study examined follow-up data from a breastfeeding promotion intervention at 31 hospitals and affiliated polyclinics in the Republic of Belarus.
‘Poorer offspring brain development into adolescence is found to be associated by a higher maternal weight during pregnancy.
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Participants included 11 276 Belarusian children who were evaluated from birth (1996-1997) to adolescence (2017-2019), with maternal BMI information available in prenatal medical records.
It was found that higher maternal body mass index after 35 weeks’ gestation was associated with a slightly lower child intelligence quotient at 6.5 years and lower cognitive scores in multiple domains at 16 years.
Associations were not mediated by child weight and were robust to adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, pregnancy complications, and paternal weight.
The study supports findings from animal experiments and human observational studies in settings with higher maternal BMI and obesity rates. Higher maternal prenatal BMI may be associated with poorer offspring brain development, although residual confounding cannot be excluded.
Source: Medindia
